Page 85 of Promised Love
“This is completely unexpected from a guy who works in a security business.”
He grins. “Only because I know there’s no safer place in the world than this campus.”
“Good to know,” I reply as he waves his hand, asking me to enter.
“A secondary benefit of leaving the key behind for the housekeeper is you always have a clean apartment.”
And he’s right. It’s really clean.
Lukas’ industrial-style apartment is unlike our rustic inn. There’s sleek furniture and a shining white floor. There isn’t a single item that doesn’t have a utilitarian purpose.
Crossing the black leather couch, I walk to the open kitchen and flop onto one of the high chairs.
“Would you like something to eat?” Lukas asks, going behind the counter.
Even though Keith and Clementine had laid out an amazing spread, I couldn’t eat much. Seeing Lukas with everyone was like a reminder that he has a life here in St. Peppers, and there isn’t a vacancy for me in his world.
He places a bowl between us and dumps some tortilla chips into it. “You didn’t eat much. Do you want me to make you something?”
I shake my head no.
“You didn’t like anyone?” Lukas grabs a bottle of sparkling wine from under the counter and shows it to me.
This time a nod in a yes. Some wine would be good. It’ll also mean we’ll talk, and I’ll get to know this man, who was never a stranger in my life, even though this evening felt like otherwise.
“It’s not that. There were just too many unfamiliar people. But before everyone from Clementine’s family arrived, I got to spend a few minutes with Clementine and Merida. Keith is…older than Clementine, right?”
Lukas’ hand shakes a little as he pours us drinks. After placing the wine bottle on the side, he says, “Keith is fifteen years older than Clem.”
My heart skips a beat, and a bright streak of hope lights in my chest. They have a bigger age gap than us, and they’re making it work beautifully.
But Lukas douses that streak as fast as it erupted. “Clementine is twenty-five. She went against her family to be with Keith.”
Heat of embarrassment burns my skin and I look away.
Lukas circles the counter and stands before me. He lifts my chin up with his finger. “What I mean is, Clementine had a choice, and she chose Keith. He wasn’t something her family deemed fit and then tied her to him.”
I close my eyes, unable to look at his beautiful face. All my life I’ve tried to prove to my family that I’m bigger and better than whatever expectations they had of me. But now I can’t stop thinking that maybe the biggest decision they’ve ever made for me is the best one after all.
Lukas places a kiss on my forehead, and my eyes open. He smiles and I can feel he doesn’t want to talk about what we can’t have. He hands me a glass and picks up one for himself. “I want to show you something.” He leads me into the master bedroom.
An azure bedsheet is tucked in at all the corners, and there’s a matching duvet spread perfectly on the lower half of the bed.
“My mom would give your housekeeper a silver badge for making the bed so perfectly.”
He chuckles and opens his closet. “I think she’d be happier with a raise than a badge.”
“Don’t tell this to Mom. She takes a lot of pride in her badges. She and Dad spend months finalizing the designs, and she has a very thorough awarding process.”
“So don’t say anything about the badges to your parents, and if it’s inevitable to talk about them, say only good things. Got it.”
I bite back a laugh. “Yes, you do. What’s that?” I ask as he turns around with a blue cardboard storage box in his hand.
Lukas places it on the bed, its lid still in place, and then gives me a sheepish grin. “I debated a lot, whether to show this to you or not.”
“Really? I thought only girls do that whole debate thing.” My curiosity is over the top as I flop down onto the mattress next to the debate-worthy box.
“I don’t know about that. I’m not going to ask my buddies.”